1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of applicators for applying a liquid to a surface. More particularly, this invention relates to applicators for applying liquids to the skin of animals. The invention is especially well adapted to applying suntan lotion or oil to human skin in hard to reach areas such as the back and provides an applicator pad surface resembling the feel of a human hand. In addition the present invention provides a convenient storage location for keys, money, etc. as part of a suntan lotion applicator arrangement.
2. Background
It is frequently advisable or necessary for a person to apply a liquid such as liquid soap, suntan lotion, creams or medicated liquids to the skin in hard to reach places such as the back. Without the assistance of others, this can be a difficult task. It may be an especially difficult task for the elderly or handicapped who may be unable for comfortably reach even normally accessible places such as legs and feet as well as the back.
The application of suntan oils or sunscreens may also prevent special problems for athletes and other sports participants. In order to properly grip sports equipment such as baseball bats, golf clubs and the like, it is clearly advisable to avoid the presence of such oily substances on the hands. Since many athletes must perform outdoors where the effects of direct sunlight are difficult to avoid, this may present an especially serious problem for them. It is therefore advisable to provide an applicator which largely avoids the mess of application of such liquids.
It is advantageous to provide an applicator with a number of resilient contact surfaces to reduce the frequency of dipping into the liquid being applied. Such an applicator should also provide a soothing feel resembling that of human skin to massage the liquid into the skin. It is also advantageous for such an applicator to include contact surfaces which may be adjusted to various shapes to readily adapt to various body or other surface contours.
Since such applicators will likely find wide use at the beach for application of suntan lotion, the present invention solves the above problems as well as providing a convenient place for storage of keys, money etc. while swimming. Moreover, in use at the beach it is desirable to provide a compact and easily stored and carried applicator which may be readily stored in a beach bag or carried with the ease of traditional suntan lotion containers.
Various elongated applicator configurations have been proposed for use with suntan lotion and the like. Such devices are shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,483,636 to Meyer, 4,396,028 to Waggoner, 4,171,171 to Jones, 4,128,350 to Gamache, 4,078,865 to Moser and Des. 246,804 to Kesler. These devices, however, are not as compact and readily portable for use at the beach as the present invention. In addition, these devices require a relatively large reservoir of liquid as part of the applicator in conjunction with a relatively large sponge or other pourous pad. As such, the pad is subject to becoming oversaturated with liquid resulting in a more than desirable quantity of liquid being deposited on the skin. Furthermore, some of these devices have no apparent provision for closure to prevent leakage or drying out of the liquid on the pad.
Such devices as understood are also deficient in providing an applicator pad surface which is suitable for applying such liquids in a manner conducive to massage of the liquid into the skin. That is, when applying suntan lotion or the like to readily accessible areas of the skin, it is not normally applied with a sponge surface or the like. Rather, it is generally applied with the human hand and massaged into the skin.
The present invention overcomes these and other shortcomings in the art with a novel applicator using preferrably an artificial skin as an applicator pad.